Northwest Passage

The key to Northwest Passage seems to lie in the distance. Over 1 mile 1 furlong to 1 mile 2 furlongs, it has won 1 from 8 races — a 12% win rate, or roughly 1 in every 8 at that trip. That sounds modest, but compare it to the horse's overall record and you can see that this is genuinely where it operates at its best. Finding that sweet spot in distance can make a significant difference to a horse's results going forward, and the team at Wiseton will be well aware of it.

That team is trained by Ivan Furtado, based in South Yorkshire, and the yard has been in solid form this season with 34 winners already sent out. Furtado's operation is not one of the giant stables that dominates the headlines, but 34 winners in a season is a real body of work, suggesting a yard that knows how to place its horses and get results. Northwest Passage sits in good hands.

What complicates the picture slightly is the class level. The horse has raced 7 times at Class 4 — the mid-tier of British racing — without winning once. It was a step down in class that finally unlocked that Salisbury victory, and recent form tells a mixed story: the last six runs read 10th, 5th, 7th, 2nd, 1st, 4th from most recent back, meaning the win sits fourth in the rearview mirror and the horse has not rediscovered that level since. Having raced just one day ago, it is clearly being kept busy, and the question the team will be asking is straightforward: can it find a race at the right distance and the right level to do it again?